Leader of pro-Russian party Renato Usatii returns to Moldova after governmental transition of power

Monday, June 17, 2019 11:00:09 AM

After the governmental transition of power, the leader of the pro-Russian “Our Party” Renato Usatii returned to Moldova.

According to the news outlet NewsMaker, he crossed into the country from Romania, entering at the Sculeni checkpoint. He was immediately detained in connection with the earlier charges levied against him and taken to the Prosecutor’s Office for Combating Organized Crime and Special Cases.

Usatii spent some time in the interrogation room, after which he left the building and reported that the prosecutor’s office had canceled the arrest warrant, but ordered him to appear in court on demand.

“When Plahotniuc left, the situation began to change every day, and we see some sort of silver lining. Unfortunately, we had to spend more than two years away for this to become apparent,” Usatii said to supporters at a rally near the prosecutor’s office.

Usatii left Moldova at the end of September 2016, and on October 24 of the same year, the court in Chisinau issued a warrant for his arrest. The prosecutor's office accused him of fraud and attempted murder of the banker German Gorbuntsov. The court also issued a BOLO on Usatii.

Usatii spent the past few months outside of Russia, undergoing treatment and living in Europe. His social network profiles indicate that he was in Germany. According to the online database of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, he is wanted there in connection with a criminal case.

The Democratic Party of Moldova, which was in power for the past few years, was forced into the minority after the Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova and the ACUM bloc won the majority.